Slip The Rod Through Clevis Strap
One of the easiest and less costly ways for you to make a useful improvement in your home is to do faucet replacement, which is to replace an old faucet with a new one. Doing so will eliminate the occurrence of irritating leaks and drips, and it could make an amazing difference in improving the aesthetics of an older room.
The first step in faucet replacement is looking for the right faucet. Although there are many types, styles and combinations of faucets in the market today, the first thing you have to be concerned about is whether the faucet you choose will fit into the old sink.
Also keep in mind that for supply connections, there are two possibilities. Your faucet could either have flexible copper supply inlets found in the center of the unit, or the inlets could be located under the hot and cold handles.
Before you start tinkering with the faucet, you have to do certain things. One of which is to shut off the main water supply. It is also best if you prepare the necessary tools and materials beforehand, including a penetrating oil in case mounting nuts are hard to pry loose. It is also recommended if you have someone to help you around with handing of tools while you do your work. And, don't forget to plug the drain with rags to avoid small parts from going down the drain.
If your faucet contains a sprayer, first remove the nuts that secure the hose to the faucet body and also the spray head to the sink. Unhook the supply lines and set them aside. Using your wrench, loosen and remove the mounting nuts that hold the faucet body to the sink. If it is hard to pry loose, you can use penetrating oil.
Detach the faucet. Clean the sink top by scraping putty and mineral deposits away from it.
Put plumber's putty or gasket to the sink or the faucet. Install the new faucet and ascertain that it is in line with the backsplash. Crawl under the sink and have someone hold faucet for you while you work under. Then, proceed to screwing on a washer and mounting nut to each inlet, and tighten it with the use of a basin wrench.
Cover inlet threads with Teflon tape or with pipe joint compound. Afterwards, twist the supply line nut on the inlet and start tightening it, by hand at first, and then by wrench. Connect shutoff valve to the other end of supply line using the same procedure.
If your faucet is using flexible copper inlets, you can do the same, but just keep in mind that no copper tubes should be twisted. Otherwise, the whole faucet might be destroyed.
Insert a ball rod into the opening located in the drain body. Use the nut provided to secure it. Then, slip the rod through clevis strap and use spring clips to secure it. Lower the rod and let it pass through hole near the rear of the faucet sprout and up to the upper end of clevis strap. Tighten thumbscrew lightly at first, adjust rods, and once adjusted, tighten thumbscrews more to set everything in place.
And with that, you have the steps to faucet replacement. Never would you have to call on a plumber again to do the work for you. Just follow the steps religiously, and you'll be Mr. HandyMan in no time.